How to pitch your startup?
Hello everybody,Â
I have big news today 🎉 I recently won a regional round of She Loves Tech Europe, which means I’ll be pitching in a global finale in Singapore later this month. Also, I won the Lead Today Shape Tomorrow pitch competition in Vienna. Since I’ll be speaking at many different conferences in the next couple of months, I would like to dedicate this week’s newsletter to my approach to building pitch decks and giving presentations. Here are the trusted principles I try to follow:Â
Never-ending iteration.
I worked as a designer before starting my company. There is a saying every designer lives by - Design is never finished. You need to iterate and iterate until you create something truly special. I think the same goes for pitch decks and presentations. Just create the first version you are proud of, show it to some people, ask for feedback, and then adjust your slides and repeat. At Macromo we have over 100 versions of our pitch deck!
Getting the right feedback.Â
Ask for feedback as often as possible. The best individuals to get feedback from are people who decided not to invest / not start that business partnership / etc. Try to emphasize and understand what are the biggest problems in your presentation. Also, when people give you feedback just listen and thank them for giving you their advice (they’re helping you out, so be polite even if you disagree!)
No size fits all.
There are multiple angles to present one company or product, but it’s important to find the right story for each audience. For instance, a presentation I would give to prospective investors and a general audience would be quite different. At Macromo we usually have around 5 pitch decks that are actively in use. Some of them focus more on the story and human side of things, while others are numbers and tech stuff. Know your audience and adjust your presentation accordingly.
Practice makes perfect.Â
I try my best to always arrive prepared and I practice for a couple of days before the presentation. I try to listen to myself and find what are the exact sentences that resonate. I also focus on the entire flow and transitions of ideas. I think these are areas a lot of people don’t get right. Also, I use only simple English to explain my ideas. Some (or many) people in your audience might not be native speakers and might have difficulty understanding a more complicated language.
Speaking.Â
When giving the presentation I think it’s good to introduce yourself and thank the audience that they came to listen to you. I usually use these couple of sentences to adjust my voice to the audio of the space I’m speaking in. Sometimes there is a slight echo or other issues you may unexpectedly face. I try to smile, have a pleasant voice, and speak slowly.Â
I think these tips can be utilized for any kind of presentation, be it a corporate or academic one. When I used to work in tech I always tried to prepare a really nice presentation for the meetings I was presenting at. I think it was worth it, and people usually didn’t fall asleep while listening to me, which I consider to be a good sign!
Public speaking might be intimidating for some people, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the years is the more you speak, the better you become at it. There are certain techniques you can use to calm yourself down before delivering a speech, but the truth is, if you’re well prepared, it’s very unlikely that something will go wrong! Following the steps I’ve outlined in this newsletter will help you get prepared, but focusing on your speech and your audience first should be your non-negotiable rule. Have faith in yourself and happy public speaking!
Thank you for reading,
Eva.